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Castellamarese War
The Castellammarese War () was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia that took place in New York City, New York, from February 1930 until April 15, 1931, between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salvatore Maranzano. The war was named after the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo, the birthplace of Maranzano. Maranzano's faction won and divided New York's crime families into the Five Families; Maranzano declared himself ''capo di tutti i capi'' ("boss of all bosses"). However, Maranzano was murdered in September 1931 on orders of Lucky Luciano, who established a power-sharing arrangement called the Commission, a group of Mafia families of equal stature, to avoid such wars in the future. Background In the 1920s, Mafia operations in the United States were controlled by Giuseppe "Joe The Boss" Masseria, whose faction consisted mainly of gangsters from Sicily, along with Calabria (the 'Ndrangheta) and Campania (the Camorra) regions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the List of United States cities by population density, most densely populated major city in the United States, and is more than twice as populous as second-place Los Angeles. New York City lies at the southern tip of New York (state), New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous Megacity, megacities, and over 58 million people live within of the city. New York City is a global city, global Culture of New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Moretti
Guarino "Willie" Moretti (February 24, 1894 – October 4, 1951), also known as Willie Moore, was a notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family and a cousin of the family boss Frank Costello. Criminal career Born Guarino Moretti in Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, Moretti immigrated to the United States with his family to live in New Jersey. On January 12, 1913, after being convicted of robbery in New York City, Moretti was sentenced to one year in state prison in Elmira, New York. He was released after several months. From 1933 to 1951, Moretti, in association with Joe Adonis, Settimo Accardi and Abner Zwillman, ran lucrative gambling dens in New Jersey and upstate New York. His operations were based out of his homes in Hasbrouck Heights (located in Bergen County, New Jersey, just outside New York City) and Deal (located in Monmouth County, New Jersey along the Jersey Shore). Hollywood connections Moretti was the godfather of then-unknown singer Frank Sinatra. Sinatra' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian-American Mafia
The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its members as Cosa Nostra (, "our thing" or "this thing of ours") and by the American government as La Cosa Nostra (LCN). The organization's name is derived from the original ''Mafia'' or ''Cosa nostra'', the Sicilian Mafia, with "American Mafia" originally referring simply to Mafia (or ''Cosa nostra'') groups from Sicily operating in the United States, as the organization initially emerged as an offshoot of the Sicilian Mafia (known also as ''Cosa nostra'' by its members) formed by Italian immigrants in the United States. However, the organization gradually evolved into a separate entity partially independent of the original Mafia in Sicily, and it eventually encompassed or absorbed other Italian immigrant and Italian-American gangsters and Ita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicolo Schiro
Nicolo "Cola" Schiro (born Nicolò Schirò; ; September 2, 1872April 29, 1957) was an early Sicilian-born New York City mobster who, in 1912, became the boss of what later become known as the Bonanno crime family. Schiro's leadership of the gang would see it orchestrate the "Good Killers" murders in New York, New Jersey, and Detroit. Schiro's gang also controlled gambling and protection rackets in Brooklyn, engaged in bootlegging during Prohibition, and printed counterfeit money. A conflict with rival mafia boss Joe Masseria would force Schiro out as boss, after which he returned to Sicily. Early life Nicolò Schirò was born on September 2, 1872, in the town of Roccamena, in the Province of Palermo, Sicily to Matteo Schirò and his wife, Maria Antonia Rizzuto. His father's family came from the Arbëreshë community of Contessa Entellina. A few years later, Schiro's family moved to his mother's hometown in nearby Camporeale. Schiro immigrated to the United States in 1897. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Lucchese
Thomas Gaetano Lucchese (born Gaetano Lucchese; ; December 1, 1899 – July 13, 1967), sometimes known by the nicknames "Tommy", "Thomas Luckese", "Tommy Brown" or "Tommy Three-Finger Brown" was an Italian-American gangster and founding member of the Mafia in the United States, an offshoot of the ''Cosa Nostra'' in Sicily. From 1951 until 1967, he was the boss of the Lucchese crime family, one of the Five Families that dominate organized crime in New York City. Early life Lucchese was born on December 1, 1899, to Baldassarre and Francesca Lucchese in Palermo, Sicily.Bureau of Narcotics, Sam Giancana (2009pg.510/ref> The surname "Lucchese" suggests family origins from the Sicilian city of Lucca Sicula. In early 1911, the Lucchese family emigrated to the United States, settling in Manhattan's Italian neighborhood of East Harlem.Harrell (2009pg. 99-101/ref>Volkman (1998pg. 8-37/ref> Lucchese's father worked hauling cement. Lucchese worked in a machine shop until 1915, when an indust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Gagliano
Thomas Gagliano (born Tommaso Gagliano; ; May 29, 1883 − February 16, 1951) was an Italian-American mobster and boss of what U.S. federal authorities would later designate as the Lucchese crime family, one of the "Five Families" of New York City. He was a low-profile boss for over two decades. His successor was his longtime loyalist and underboss, Tommy Lucchese. Early life Gagliano was born on May 29, 1883, in Corleone, Sicily. In 1905 he immigrated to the United States, in New York City, and married Giuseppina "Josephine" Pomilla, who was also from Corleone. Gagliano and his brother-in-law Nunzio Pomilla were partners in lathing and hoisting companies in the Bronx. He was underboss to Gaetano "Tom" Reina until he became the boss of the family in 1930. The Reina family controlled a monopoly on ice distribution in the Bronx. Gagliano along with Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese and Stefano "Steve" Rondelli were viewed as the most powerful members of the Reina family. Frank Gagliano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaetano Reina
Gaetano Reina (; September 27, 1889 – February 26, 1930) was an Italian-American gangster. He was an early American Mafia boss who was the founder of what has for many years been called the Lucchese crime family in New York City. He led the family until his murder on February 26, 1930, on the orders of Joe Masseria. Early years Reina was born on September 27, 1889 in Corleone, Sicily to Giacomo Reina and Carmela Rumore. Critchley p. 86 In the early 1900s, the Reina family moved to New York City and settled on 107th Street in East Harlem. Reina along with his brother Antonio began working with members of the Morello crime family. In July 1913, Reina's sister Bernarda married Vincenzo Terranova. He married Angelina Olivera, and the couple had nine children; five sons, Giacomo, became a member of the Lucchese family, Capeci p. 61 Henry, Sam, John and Bernard, and four daughters, Anna, Carmela "Mildred" Valachi, married Joe Valachi in 1932, Rose Bongrieco and Lucy Sterling. The fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Aiello
Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello (; September 27, 1890 – October 23, 1930) was a Sicilians, Sicilian bootlegger and organized crime leader in Chicago during the Prohibition in the United States, Prohibition era. He was best known for his long and bloody feud with Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone. Aiello masterminded several unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Capone, and fought against his former business partner Antonio Lombardo, a Capone ally, for control of the Chicago branch of the Unione Siciliana benevolent society. Aiello and his ally Bugs Moran are believed to have arranged the murder of Lombardo, which directly led Capone to organize the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in retaliation. Despite being forced to flee Chicago multiple times throughout the gang war, Aiello eventually took control of the Unione Siciliana in 1929, and ranked seventh among the Chicago Crime Commission's list of top "Public enemy (term), public enemies". Aiello was killed after Capone gunmen ambushed him as he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Profaci
Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci (; October 2, 1897 – June 6, 1962) was an Italian-born New York City Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of what became the Colombo crime family. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organized. He was the family's boss for over three decades. Biography Early life Giuseppe Profaci was born in Villabate, in the Province of Palermo, Sicily, on October 2, 1897. In 1920, Profaci spent one year in prison in Palermo on theft charges. Family ties Profaci's sons were Frank Profaci and John Profaci Sr. Frank eventually joined the Profaci crime family while John Sr. followed legitimate pursuits. Two of Profaci's daughters married the sons of Detroit Partnership mobsters William Tocco and Joseph Zerilli. Profaci's brother was Salvatore Profaci, who served as his consigliere for years, and is known to have been heavily into dealing of pornographic materials. One of Profaci's brothers-in-law was Joseph Magliocco, who would eventually b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stefano Magaddino
Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino (; October 10, 1891 – July 19, 1974) was an Italian-born crime boss of the Buffalo crime family in western New York. His underworld influence stretched from Ohio to Southern Ontario and as far east as Montreal, Quebec. Known as ''Don Stefano'' to his friends and ''The Undertaker'' to others, he was also a charter member of the American Mafia's ruling council, The Commission. Early years Magaddino was born on October 10, 1891, in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. In Castellammare del Golfo, Magaddino led a clan allied with Giuseppe "Peppe" Bonanno and his older brother and advisor, Stefano.A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno By Joseph Bonannp.24-28/ref> During the 1900s, the clans feuded with Felice Buccellato, the boss of the Buccellato Mafia clan. After the murders of Stefano and Giuseppe, their younger brother, Salvatore, took revenge by killing members of the Buccellatos. In 1902, Magaddino arrived in New York and became a po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vito Bonventre
Vito Bonventre (January 1, 1875 – July 15, 1930) was a New York City mobster who was a leading member of the Brooklyn gang that would later become the Bonanno Crime Family. He was arrested but then released in 1921 as the leader of a group known as the "Good Killers". Bonventre was murdered in 1930 at the start of a conflict between his gang and a rival gang led by Joe Masseria, referred to as the Castellammarese War. Early years Vito Bonventre was born on January 1, 1875, in the town of Castellammare del Golfo in Sicily. In Castellammare del Golfo, his family was a member of a mafia clan created by an alliance with the Magaddino family in opposition to a mafia clan led by the Buccellato family. He immigrated to the United States just after the beginning of the twentieth century and settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. He soon became a member of the local mafia gang led by Nicolo Schiro. Leader of "The Good Killers" Bonventre was arrested on August 16, 1921, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Bonanno
Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. Bonanno was born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, where his father was also involved in organized crime. At the age of three, Bonanno immigrated to New York City with his family, for about 10 years before he moved back to Italy. He later slipped back into the United States in 1924, by stowing away on a Cuban fishing boat bound for Tampa, Florida. After the Castellammarese War, Salvatore Maranzano was murdered in 1931, and Bonanno took control of most of the crime family, and at age 26, Bonanno became one of the youngest-ever bosses of a crime family. In 1963, Bonanno made plans with Joseph Magliocco to assassinate several rivals on the Mafia Commission. When Magliocco gave the contract to one of his top hit men, Joseph Colombo, he revealed the plot to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
